Relative Hope
by Fourth in Command Cixalea Jwan
Summary: The Allies are l'cie on the run. Matthew is captured, and Alfred's despair puts them all in danger. Allies-centric. No FFXIII characters. No pairings. Lots of brotherly/cousinly fluff. One shot. Looking forward to it.


**So I just like writing Hetalia crossovers. This is one for FFXIII. I didn't mention specifically where it takes place—Pulse or Cocoon—nor did I mention if they were Pulse _l'cie_ or Cocoon _l'cie_. I guess it doesn't even have to be in that universe at all. Just use your imagination. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz. I do not own Final Fantasy: XIII. FFXIII belongs to Square Enix.**

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><p>"No! Matt! No!" Alfred cried as he pulled himself off of the dirt and launched himself at the thick, stone door, but it closed with a mighty thud before he could reach it. Growling, he set about tearing it open by force, jamming his fingers into the seam between the doors and prying.<p>

Ivan watched the frantic blond with an unusually blank expression. He ghosted a large hand over the _l'cie_ tattoo hidden beneath the folds of his scarf and pondered if what they said was true—if it was more merciful to be killed than to either fulfill their Focus or fail and turn _Ceith_.

"Alfred," Yao spoke suddenly as he roughly tugged the elastic band out of his hair, letting his dark strands fall over his shoulders. Though the man was easily the oldest in this ragtag group of not-humans, he looked younger than all of them with his hair down. "I don't believe the ancient walls of my city would have stood for a thousand years if someone could have torn the gate open with his hands, aru."

He ushered his now-neat hair back and snapped the band around it to bind it into a ponytail once more as he looked at Alfred with sorrowful, brown eyes. He wanted just as badly to reenter the city—his home—but he couldn't. Not when he was a_ l'cie_. Wang Yao knew that this was the last time he would ever see his city before he died—_l'cie_ or otherwise.

"Of course no one person could breach these walls, but what about a_ l'cie_? Come on, Alfred! Use magic!" Arthur commanded.

Alfred's face brightened slightly as he backed up and summoned some magic, throwing it at the stone doors. However, nothing seemed to be making an impact.

"It's not working! It's not _working!_" Alfred cried, getting more desperate by the second.

"H-here, lad. Let us help! Right, everyone! Let's try together!"

Arthur also began lobbing magic at the wall. Yao even threw a few unenthusiastic bursts, but Ivan remained in his own little world and Francis stood distant and clenched his fists.

This barrage of magic lasted for only a few more moments before Alfred took a few gasps of air and saw that the door hadn't even been chipped.

"No!" He yelled, assaulting the door with his bear hands once again. "No! No! I have to get to Matt!"

His hands began to scrape up on the rough rock, making it even harder to get a grip with the blood dripping down his fingers. His hysteria only grew.

Arthur watched his new friend as fear welled up inside him.

"Alfred, don't give up!" he pleaded. "We'll find another way in!"

"He's lost, Alfred," Francis spoke, his voice grave and heavy.

Arthur wheeled on him with his green eyes blazing.

"Francis!" Arthur spat, but he continued.

"It's like Yao said. No one 'as ever gotten through those walls in a thousand years. By the time we figured out some way to sneak in, your brother will 'ave been long dead. And then we'll be killed too. There's nothing you can do. I'm sorry."

"Francis! _Shut up_!" Arthur commanded as he jumped up and dragged his cousin off to the side.

"[Don't you remember]?" Arthur spoke in rough but rapid French. "[If a l'cie doesn't have some sort of hope, an Eidolon will be summoned to dispatch him. I know as well as you do that his brother is as good as dead, but he has to keep believing he's alive or he'll be killed too]!"

"[Oh, yes. The Eidolon. I've heard your little fairytales one too many times growing up. You love living in the world of make-believe, but acceptance is the first step to recovering. The faster he accepts his brother's death, the faster he will be able to move on with his life]."

"[You never moved on! That's what this is, isn't it? You want to make Alfred suffer because of what you went through when Jeanne–]"

"[Don't you_ dare_ say her name!]"

"A-alfred, aru?"

The two turned to see Alfred on the ground. Tears were streaming down his face, but Arthur saw he was cradling his l'cie tattoo on his right knee and wincing as if it were causing him pain.

Thoughts hit Alfred at a million miles an hour.

_Why is Arthur yelling at Francis in French? Does he not want me to hear what he's saying? He's…he think's Matthew's gone too, doesn't he?! There's nothing I can do! He think's Matt's gone. Matt's gone. Matt's _gone_! _

Alfred groaned as his tattoo felt like it was trying to gorge itself out of his skin, but he barely noticed as the emotional pain of losing his brother felt much worse.

_He's dead and we're all going to die! There's nothing we can do! We're cursed and doomed to die! There are no heroes in this. We're all just…just…._

"Gaaah!"

Arthur blanched as Alfred cried out in intense pain. It was happening.

"No! Alfred! _Don't–_"

But it was too late.

The teen's tattoo began to glow white as a beam of light shot up from it into the sky. Suddenly, a huge mechanized monster dropped down behind them knocking everyone off their feet.

Arthur pushed himself up and looked at the huge creature as fear dilated his pupils. It was blue and built like a huge golem of sorts. And easily thirty meters tall.

"Alfred's Eidolon," Ivan said, a shadow of his insanity shook into his voice and he tightened his grip on his trusty iron pipe.

"My what?"

Arthur caught Alfred looking to him for clarification. For once, he cursed his affinity for ancient folklore.

"According to my research, a creature like this is summoned to a _l'cie_ when he or she has lost all hope."

"Summoned?" The teen looked at his glowing tattoo. "I didn't mean to summon it! What does it do?"

"Eidolon exist to provide… a _way out_ for _l'cie_ if they lose the drive to fulfill their Focuses. It's…it's going to try to kill you, Alfred," Arthur said gravely.

Alfred dropped his head, letting it hang against his collarbone as tears flowed unceasingly onto his shirt. If he died now, he could see his brother, right? Maybe it wasn't so bad.

Then Alfred heard footsteps and briefly opened his eyes. Ivan of all people was standing in front of him. His iron pipe brandished and at the ready.

"But if you defeat your Eidolon, it will do as you say, da?"

"What?" Arthur exclaimed.

"It's true, aru," Yao said, preparing his wok for battle. "The legends of my people are different than yours. They say that Eidolon are creatures in constant searching for worthy masters. If you defeat one, it will deem you worthy, and it become your trusted servant."

"If that's true…!" Arthur sized up the Eidolon compared to the city wall in his head, magic already swirling at his fingertips. "Alfred, if you defeat this thing…!"

"If you defeat it, you can make it destroy the wall and get your frère back."

Alfred stared at Francis who avoided eye contact but readied his rapier regardless. Suddenly, determination swelled within the teen, and he jumped to his feet and pointed his revolver at the enormous Eidolon.

"Hang on, Mattie. Big bro is coming!"

They all engaged the creature in battle and defeated it though it was a formidable foe. The creature whirled some of its gears and condensed itself slightly, making it still massive, but less intimidating. Francis could have sworn the creature was even smiling.

With a small hiss, a chamber opened up in the center of the Eidolon's chest. It looked like it was meant for someone to sit there. The Eidolon crouched down with an expectant air about it if that were possible as it looked at Alfred with its huge eyes.

"O-okay. So this is how this works, hu?"

He jumped up and maneuvered himself into the seat, discovering it was not unlike sitting in the cockpit of the planes he was being trained to fly before he was turned into a _l'cie_. As soon as he sat down, the Eidolon stood and brought him high up into the air. Alfred laughed.

"Alright, buddy! Let's kick down this—"

Suddenly, a loud boom echoed in front of them, startling everyone. Another sounded and cracks appeared in the wall.

"Is this Alfred's Eidolon?"

"It can't be! It hasn't even touched the wall!"

"Get back! The wall's coming down!" Francis shouted, grabbing his cousin and pulling him back from the wall band behind Alfred's enormous Eidolon.

Yao and Ivan followed suit and just in the nick of time. One more mighty crash and hunks of the once-impenetrable wall burst out. Alfred's Eidolon quickly moved an arm-like appendage and blocked Alfred from being hit while the rest of its girth simply deflected the debris, protecting the other three.

After it was clear that no more boulders would fly at them, the Eidolon lowered its hand slowly. Alfred squinted into the dust ahead of him but was unable to see anything though he could hear something enormous moving toward them. His Eidolon was steadfast, but Alfred was nervous. What was it?

Then he heard a soft, familiar voice.

"Alfred!"

The teen's heart about lurched in his chest. Parting through the dust was another Eidolon. Sitting on top of it was Matthew.

It was as if the Eidolon sensed their respective human's wishes and they reached out to each other to create a bridge with their arms. No sooner did the two teens figure it out than they were sprinting across as their Eidolon intended.

The twins met in the middle and frantically embraced, their tears streaming down and mixing on their shirts.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the others watched.

"Matthew's Eidolon looks just like Alfred's. I wonder if the Eidolon's appearances were affected by the fact they are twins. I've never come across anything about that in any of my research. How fascinating!"

"Well, the supposed nicer one, aru, just destroyed the ancient walls of my city! How dare–"

"Calm down, da?" Ivan said, putting a heavy hand on the smaller man's shoulders.

Yao's spine went ramrod straight before he shimmied out of his grip while shouting accusatorily, "You're just happy because your people were the reason my people built that wall, aru!"

"I think you are missing the point," Francis said. "Matthew summoned an Eidolon. They both lost hope."

Yao and Ivan calmed immediately. But, before a grim air could settle over them, Arthur spoke up.

"I don't know, Francis," he said, pointing to the twins. "They look pretty hopeful to me."

"Da. And now they are hopeful with enormous Eidolon to command. I feel more hopeful too."

Francis bristled but said nothing else. He, instead, directed his glare at his own _l'cie_ tattoo on his palm, the shape slowly changing as their time ran out. Time he wasn't sure what to do with.

There was the sound of creaking metal and the Eidolon softly lowered Alfred and Matthew to the ground beside them.

Francis continued to stare at his tattoo until a pale hand pressed over it, blocking it from view.

"We can do it, eh? We can fulfill our Focuses. You won't be alone."

He looked up slowly and saw the teen's big, purple eyes gleaming at him. Ever since they met, Matthew had always been able to tell what Francis was thinking. He couldn't help but allow a tiny smile to contort his face, and he heard a certain someone snickering behind him.

"[Shut up, Arthur.]"

"Come on, guys! Let's kick our Focuseses butts!"

"Isn't the plural of 'focus,' 'foci'?"

"Dude, I don't care what it's called. It's going down! Let's go!"

"I would advice Alfred to stop pushing me before I bash his skull in, da?"

"Hahahaha! I love it when you tell jokes, man!"

"Alfred, aru, I really don't know how someone as oblivious as you got a pilot's license."

"I'm actually in training, but…."

Francis watched as the three headed off down the path, but Matthew and Arthur looked at him expectantly.

"Well? Are you coming?" Arthur said, hands on his hips like a scolding mother.

Francis sighed exaggeratedly and ran a hand through his gorgeous hair.

"Oui. Why not?"

Matthew smiled and skipped ahead, calling for Alfred to wait up for them.

"You know, it probably wouldn't hurt to get attached to them," Arthur said, suddenly now that they were alone. "I mean, we're all going to die at some point soon so it might as well be around people you considered friends."

Francis scoffed.

"The day you take your own advice is the day I'll take yours as well."  
>"Is that a challenge, frog-breath?"<p>

"Only if you want it to be, black sheep."

Arthur prickled with resentment and was about to retort when they heard Alfred screaming for them.

"Hurry up, you guys! You're so freaking slow!"

Arthur pursed his lips into a sly smile as he looked at his cousin.

"Race you."

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><p><strong>So yeah. It was just something I felt like writing. There you go. Hope you liked it.<strong>

**Looking forward to it!**


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